Library Lens

You may have noticed several small sculptures on display in the glass cases located in the lower level of the library.  They are part of our Inuit collection, partially donated by Steuben Glass Designer James Houston. The first 40 pieces of this collection were purchased specifically for the Arthur A. Houghton Jr. Library by the Library Craft Shop and the Library Associates. Mr. Houston later donated an additional 12 pieces after acquiring them in December 1969. 

Mr. Houston began studying art at the Ontario College of Art, then went on to serve five years in the Toronto Scottish Regiment of the Canadian Army during World War II. After the war, he continued his studies at École Grand Chaumière in Paris, France. Upon his return, he decided he was tired of urban life and began to travel. He lived for 14 years among the Inuit people of Northern Québec. There, he learned the art of Inuit printmaking and popularized their art style in the United States and Canada.

Mr. Houston worked with several entities, including the Canadian government and the Canadian Handcraft Guild, to bring attention to the carved artwork of the Inuit people and popularize the aesthetic in the United States and Canada. He was honored by the people with the name Saumik, which means “left-handed one.” His time with the Inuit people is reflected in many of his art pieces with Steuben Glass. We have several books written by James Houston in our library collection.

The artwork in our Inuit collection is primarily carved from soapstone or whale bone. The sculptures nearest the library desk are all animal figures, including seals, whales, birds, turtles, and narwhals. The case nearest to the outside windows depicts mainly human figures engaged in varying activities. Several figures are embracing, and at least two humans are depicted with animals or animal spirits. There are also three small and one life-sized mask-like figures. 

Works Cited

Bily, Cynthia A. (2023). James A Houston. In EBSCO. Retrieved from https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/james-houston.

Fox, Margalit. (2005). “James A. Houston, Writer of Eskimo Life, Dies at 83.” In The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/22/books/james-a-houston-writer-on-eskimo-life-dies-at-83.html.

Houston, James A. “Inuit Art” (library collection)

Stott, J. (2013). James Archibald Houston. In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/james-archibald-houston.

What exactly is a Folio? 

A folio is described as a book that has been printed on large sheets of paper that have been folded to form two pages and is a similar size to an encyclopedia. Smaller books called “quartos” would have paper folded twice to create four pages before being stitched together. 

Shakespeare’s plays were not formally printed during his lifetime. That’s not to say they weren’t printed at all, just that none of the prints were done with his endorsement, nor with the endorsement of his associates. Plays that were printed were taken from memory by an audience member at a performance. It wasn’t until one or two years after Shakespeare’s death in 1616 that John Heminge and Henry Condell, two players from the King’s Men (Shakespeare’s acting troupe) approached printer William Jaggard to collect and print their friend and colleague’s works into what would become known as Shakespeare’s First Folio. This folio was completed in 1623 and was quite popular in its day. The second folio would be printed nine years later in 1632.

Today, first and second folios are considered prized pieces in special collections and collector’s libraries. Scholars consider the second folio to be more accurate than the first, as it includes plays that were previously left out. Shakespeare did not write stage directions, so they are not included in either folio. We are fortunate to have portions of the Second Folio as part of our Special Collection, the History of the Written Word at the Arthur A. Houghton Jr. Library Archives.  The plays in our collection are Much Ado About Nothing and Love’s Labor’s Lost contained in one volume and then each other volume containing one play each are The Winter’s Tale, Measure for Measure, two copies of The Merchant of Venice, and The Taming of the Shrew.

Since we have two copies of The Merchant of Venice, and that second copy and The Taming of the Shrew are bound in more colorful paper with what appears to be leather on the spines, we can surmise that these volumes were taken from two separate collections. The first four volumes of five plays come from one source and the last two from another. The volumes were likely split up by a previous collector for ease of handling, since all the plays contained in one volume would have been large and difficult to read individually, much in the way a literature anthology can be when not broken down into sets. 

Resources

Collins, Paul (2009). The Book of William: how Shakespeare’s First Folio Conquered the World. Bloomsbury USA.

Martin, Dr. John H., “History of the Written Word” (library records)

You get bonus points for using this vocabulary word in your daily life. But what does it mean? 

Incunabula is a Latin word that refers to all books printed from the time of Gutenberg's movable type press (around 1455) to the end of 1500. These are the earliest printed books and they're very special to librarians, book collectors, and book historians.

The most important contributions to the printing of incunabula came from Germany and Italy. Religious literature was printed in great quantity during this period. The first printers working in Germany created large volumes that were held in monastic libraries. Italy on the other hand overestimated the demand for Latin classics which resulted in a significant overstock. The first fifty years of book publishing were especially productive but technically inefficient, these books often lacked title pages or pagination. As the market for books grew throughout northern Europe, competition among printers became intense and standard formatting became the norm.

The Arthur A. Houghton Jr. Library holds an excellent reproduction of the Gutenberg Bible as well as examples of type faces used by leading book printers working in the late 1400s. Our collection has two printed books from the Incunabula period along with a number of leaves.

Gutenberg Bible, London, 1611

Cicero, Venice, 1482

According to our records, this copy of Cicero's, Libri III cum commento petro marso is one of only two known copies in the United States. Published in Venice, in 1482, it is in excellent condition with handwritten notes in the margins. The earliest printers were trained in the manuscript tradition, as a result, the first generation of printed books imitated manuscripts by including spaces for illuminations that could be painted after printing. This book is a fine example of that practice.

Resources